Device Side Data's FC5025 USB 5.25" floppy controller plugs into any computer's USB port and enables you to attach a 5.25" floppy drive. Even if your computer has no built-in floppy controller, the FC5025 lets you read those old disks. And it's not just for IBM PC disks – it also understands formats used by Apple, Atari, Commodore and TI, among others.

Requirements

The FC5025 is USB powered. Power from USB runs only the FC5025 itself; you must supply power to the drive mechanism separately, such as from your computer's power supply.

The FC5025 is sold as a controller board only without a drive mechanism. It has been tested to work well with the TEAC FD-55GFR drive and should also work with most other PC-style 5.25" drives. (Note: the included software expects a 1.2M drive, even when reading 360k disks.)

Limitations

The FC5025 is read-only. It cannot write to floppies.

The FC5025 may be unable to read disks that are damaged or copy-protected.

Included Software

The FC5025 includes a graphical Disk Image and Browse tool for Linux, Mac OS X and Windows. This program allows you to make an image copy of an inserted floppy, suitable for use under emulators or for archival use. On some but not all types of disks, the Disk Image and Browse tool can also display a file listing and copy individual files from the disk. Screenshots of the Disk Image and Browse tool are available.

Command line image and browse tools are also included for Linux and Mac OS X.